Elastic bandage



July 1 1924'.

H. B. CHATTERTON ELASTI C BANDAGE Filed Aug. 29, 1921 Patented July 1,1924.

ED STATE BZATENT. wl-Ce,

HARRY 1B. CHATTERTON, or wnsr sonnrtvinnn, vmssncnusm rs.

ELASTIC BANDAGE.

Application filed August 29, 1921. Seria1 No. 496,211.

" To all whom it may concern: I

- occupied by a stocking leg on a human leg having varicose veins, theobject being to provide a covering adapted to conform closely andyieldingly 'to'all parts of the leg embraced by it and exert the desiredconfining pressure on protuberances caused by 'v'aricose veins, and alsoadapted to'be conveniently applied and removed.

. The invention is embodied in the improved bandage hereinafterdescribed and claimed, adapted to be applied to a membeiof a humanbody,"such as a legx 01 the accompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification- Figure 1 is. a' front perspective view of an elasticbandage embodying the invention.

Figure 2 isa; fragmentary section on line2-2 of Figure 1.

Fi ure 3- is a fragmentary section on line 3- 3 of Figure 1. s Figure 4:is an enlargement of a portion of Figure 1. I

-' Figure 5 is a view of a portion of Figure 1, showing "a modification.

Figure 6 is an enlargement of the end portion of the ligature shown byFigures Figure T's a view similar to a portion of Figure 1, showinganother construction. ""Figure 8 is' aconventional end view of thebandage, showing another construction.

Figure 9 is" a fragmentary side view, showing a portion of the elasticfabric hereinafter described:

Figure 10 is a fragmentary side view showing a portion ofmodification'of said fabric. V

Figure 11 is a perspective view, showing a bandage of the constructionshown conventionally by Figure" 8.

The samereference characters indicate the sameparts in all ofthefigures.

My improved-bandage comprises aflexible body section 12, preferablyshaped and proportioned to partially embrace a leg and conform to theembraced portion. The section is preferably of wovenfabric- Thelongitudinal edgesof the'section 12 are provided with flexible stays I13, -'extending the entire length ofsaid edges, and-of any suitableconstruction. stays maybe of spring steel, such "as is employed forcorsetstays, or they maybe comosed of wire strands-bent intointerengaged oops elongated 'crosswise'of the stay, 1 as For example?"the indicated by Figure 1 this formof stay be- 1 ing flexible edgewise,as well as sidewise. In the embodiment of the invention shown by Figures1 to 5 the stays 13 are provided with coupling members, adapted toengage anelastic contractile ligature 14, const'ituting an embodiment ofresilient connecting means; whereby the--fstays and thelongitudinaledges of the body section 12 -are yieldingly connectedand normally drawntoward each other, so that all parts of the body section areeaused toexerta uniform yielding pressure onthe portion of the leg covered by thebody section.- 7 One stay 13 may be provided with eye shapedcouplingwith hook-shaped coupling members 16, as shownby Figures 1 ,"2and 3. Theshanks of said members are secured to the" stays by pivots 17'. Theopposite ends of the ligature members 15, the other stay being pro idedif are, in this embodiment {of the invention,

secured permanently to the end portions of the stay having theeye-shaped coupling members 15, said stay being provided with terminaleyes 18, with which the ends of the ligature are permanently engaged.The

ligature is therefore permanently engaged with the eye-shaped members15,-andfis adaptedjto be detachably'engaged with'the hook members 16.The contractibility of the ligature is suclrthat-"when it"is engaged'with each series of coupling members; it

exerts the desired contracting pressure on the body section 12. r 3 IWhen the ligature is sepa ated from the hook-shaped couplingfmembers, itbecomes inoperative, and permits the opening of the body sectionpreparatory to its removal from, and application to, the legThe'ligature' is" preferably composed of a helically coiled resilient'wire 14, shown much enlarged by Figures 4 and 6. The ends of the wireare suitably secured to the terminal eyes 18, its convolutions beingnormally fillSfld to contact with-"each other by the resilience of thewire. To limit the extension of theligature and prevent its coils,especially at the end portions, from being distorted, or straightenedout by the longitudinal strain which elongates the ligature from itsnormal length, I provide a flexible, substantially inextensible core 19,which may be a cord of rubber and cotton, or other fibrous material,extendin through the helical'ligature, and secured with the ends thereofto the eyes 18. The core is longer than the ligature when the latter iscontracted, and becomes taut when the ligature is extended to apredetermined maximum length.

The bandage also comprises a flexible intermediate filling section 21,overlapped by the longitudinal edges of the body section 12, and fillingthe space between said edges. The section 21-is confined against aportion of the legby said longitudinal edges, and by the resilientligature 14, the latter bridging-the space between the longitudinaledges of the body section 12, and exerting inward pressure on thefilling section practically throughout the entire length of the latter,so that although the ligature is not directly connected with the fillingsection, and does not exert a pulling strain thereon, it exerts adistributed inward pressure on practically all parts of the fillingsection and on the ortion of a limb covered by said section.

prefer to'make the filling section by enclosing apiece 21" of wire clothin a cloth covering, the wire cloth being suitably flexible,

and at the same time having sufficient stiffness to distribute thepressure over the entire legarea covered by the filling section, so

that the portions of the filling section on which the stretches of theligature do not bear, are prevented from bulging outward bythe wirecloth.

' In'applying the bandage the filling section 21 is placed on one sideof the leg, usu- .ally the front side, and the body section 12 is thenplaced upon the leg withjits longitudinal edges overlapping thelongitudinal edges'of the filling section. The elastic ligature is thenrendered operative by stretching and engaging it with the hook-shapedcoupling members 16. The permanent connection of the ligature at bothe'nds'with the terminal eyes 18, enables the ligature to be quicklyandconveniently rendered operative and lnopera-tive, by engaging it with,and

- sepa-ratingit from, the coupling members 16.

If desired, the ligature may be' detachably connected at one end withone end of the eyes -18, as indicated by Figure 5, so that the liga-,ture may be detached from eachset of cou- 1 pling members. To'separablyengage the up ;per end of the ligature with the upper terminal eye 18,Imay provide the ligature with a rigid-tip 23,adapted to be passedthrough the eye, the inner end of the tip forming a shoulder or stop23,adapted to abut against the eye in such a manner as to preventaccidental withdrawal of the tip from the eye. The ligature may beprovided with any other suitable device for this purpose. The ligaturein this modification, is rendered inoperative by detaching it first fromthe upper eye 18, and then allowing it to slip through the couplingmembers.

I do not limit myself to an elongated contractile elastic ligature, asthe resilient means yieldingly connecting the stays and the longitudinaledges of the body section 12.

Figures 7, 9 and 10 show a construction, in which the resilient means isembodied in a normally contracted fabric composed of resilient wirestrands 25, and transverse normally contracted helical springs 26,constituting the upper and lower ends of the fabric. Looped portions ofthe strands 25 are interengaged at 27 with convolutions of the springs26, and other looped portions are interengaged at 28 with the stays 13.The said fabric performs the same function as the ligature 14. Thefabric may be rendered inoperative by detacha-bly connecting one of thelongitudinal edges of the body section 12 with one of the stays 13, forexample,

by snap fasteners, including stud members 29, attachedto the stay, andsocket members 30 attached-to the body section. Hooks and eyes may besubstituted for the snap-fasteners. I

If desired, the stocking maybe provided with resilient contractileconnecting means at each of two opposite sides, as indicatedconventionally by Figure 8, and by Figure 11, in which 12 12* indicate atwo-part body section 21, 21 two intermediate filling sections, and 31,'31 two resilient connecting means.

The filling sections 21 in this construction are arranged to bear onopposite sides of the leg, one of the parts 12 bearing on the front andthe other on the back of the leg. The elastic connecting means at oneside of the stockingmayinc'lude the ligature 14, and the elasticconnecting means at the oppos1te side may include'the said fabric, asshown by Figure 11.

I claim:

' 1. Anelastic bandage comprising a fiexi ble body section having spacedapart longitudinal edges and coupling members ad a 'cent to said edges,an intermediate flexible exerting a distributed yielding inward pressurethereon, means being provided for re leasing the normal tension of theresilient connection to permit the opening of the bandage. v

2. An elastic bandage comprising a flexible body section, having spacedapart longitudinal edges provided with coupling members, and an elasticcontractile ligature composed of helically coiled wire engaged with saidcoupling members and with the body section, and adapted to normallycontract the body section upon abody member, means being provided forrendering said ligature inoperative, and thereby permitting the openingof the bandage.

3. An elastic bandage comprising a flexible body section, stay stripssecured to the longitudinal edges thereof, and provided with couplingmembers, said stay strips be ing spaced apart when the bandage is inuse, and an elastic contractile ligature composed of helically coiledWire engaged with said coupling members and with the body section, andadapted to normally contract the body section upon a body member, meansbeing provided for rendering said ligature inoperative, and therebypermitting the ing spaced apart when the bandage is in use,

and an elastic contractile ligature composed of helically coiled wireengaged with said coupling members and with the body section, andadapted to normally contract the body section on a body member, meansbeing provided for rendering said ligature inoperative, and therebypermitting the opening of the bandage, said ligature being provided withan inextensible flexible core, secured to the ends of the ligature andextending loosely through it to limit the extension of the ligature, thelength of said core being greater than the normal length of theligature.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

HARRY B. CHATTERTON.

